San Jose Sharks
Sharks Locker Room: Learning To Win?
The San Jose Sharks were 1-7-2 in their first 10 games. They’re 5-3-2 in their last 10, after a thrilling 5-4 overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
William Eklund scored twice, Tyler Toffoli and Luke Kunin tallied, and Macklin Celebrini delivered the first OT winner of his career.
The San Jose Sharks, slowly but surely, are perhaps starting to learn how to win games.
One sign of that?
Tied 3-3 heading into the third period, the Sharks put their foot on the Red Wings’ throat, starting with Kunin’s early third period goal. Impressively, they kept the pressure on. Per Natural Stat Trick, San Jose dominated 5-on-5, 18-10 Shot Attempts, 10-3 Shots, and 10-4 Scoring Chances.
“It’s a really strong sign,” Eklund said, of how the Sharks performed in an anybody’s game final frame.
“We were hunting down pucks. We were making smart decisions with the puck through the neutral zone. We’re getting on top of them in the offensive zone and suffocating them,” San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We were on the attack. We were attacking with the puck. We were moving without the puck.”
And while the Sharks gave up the late power play equalizer, that doesn’t take away from what the team did in perhaps their most impressive third period this season.
“I thought we deserved to win the hockey game,” Warsofsky said. “All the things that we’ve really talked about since the start of training camp, we’re starting to see our identity a little bit.”
Credit to Warsofsky and his team for riding out another nightmarish start to the season.
“This year is different than years past, for sure, we’re never out of the fight,” Kunin said. “I think you can see that.”
After the game, Warsofsky praised his fourth line of Kunin, Carl Grundstrom, and Klim Kostin.
Celebrini broke down his first-ever game-winner.
Eklund discussed the Lund Line’s chemistry.
And Kunin talked about the good vibes in the Sharks room right now.
Ryan Warsofsky
Warsofsky, on what the San Jose Sharks did right in third period:
We were hunting down pucks. We were making smart decisions with the puck through the neutral zone. We’re getting on top of them in the offensive zone and suffocating them. We were creating some offense and not letting them change, which we’ve seen [happen] to us a little bit here in the first 20 games of the season. We were on the attack. We were attacking with the puck. We were moving without the puck. All the things that we’ve really talked about since the start of training camp, we’re starting to see our identity a little bit.
Warsofsky, on the fourth line:
Really good tonight. That line was really, really good. Good energy. They were making things happen in the offensive zone. Obviously had a big goal there with Kunny. But even before that, they’re creating offense with their speed, their strength, their forecheck ability, they draw some penalties to get us on the power play. I thought that line was outstanding tonight.
Warsofsky, on Celebrini and Will Smith’s chemistry:
They got good chemistry. They want to play together every moment they can. They’ve been good with the puck. They make things happen in the offensive zone. It’s usually a shift or two a period where they’re in the offensive zone, they’re getting some really good looks. I need them to be a little bit responsible without the puck at times. (laughs) But they’re going to learn, and they’re going to develop those habits and those foundational winning habits that we’ve talked about.
Macklin Celebrini
Celebrini, on how he felt about his game:
I love when we win. To get put in that situation, you want to come through for your team, especially after a couple misses in the shootout and stuff. To get that goal…it’s good for the group.
Celebrini, on his OT goal:
It was a great play by Granny. Kind of set a pick there. I just found myself a lot of space, I just tried to go low glove. Felt like he was cheating a little bit, so it snuck through.
William Eklund
Eklund post-game quote on this floater that ended up in the net “2nd goal was one of my hardest shot ever.” 😂#TheFutureIsTeal
pic.twitter.com/zu6Lk1Areg— SnipeCity420 (@SnipeCity420) November 19, 2024
Eklund, on the Lund Line’s chemistry:
I feel like I know pretty much every time when either of them get the puck where I should be. That’s a pretty unique thing in hockey, obviously. To have that chemistry, to build that, it’s a great thing.
Luke Kunin
Kunin, on how it feels to be on a team that always seems able to fight through adversity:
This year is different than years past, for sure, we’re never out of the fight. I think you can see that. We’re playing all the way through to the end. And yeah, a few haven’t gone our way, but it’s nice to see that one tonight go our way. Guys are playing well, and it’s a good feeling.
Uniting Smith and Celebrini seems to have been a pretty brilliant coaching move by Warsofsky. I know fans are mixed on having those two play with Goodrow, but keeping the Lund line intact while building a veteran line around Toffoli is keeping the rookies away from difficult match ups more often. They have more room to work and are getting a lot more touches, especially Smith. They also clearly want to make plays together, you can tell how badly they want to combine for a goal right now. Just a matter of time until they start to click, and when they… Read more »
Goody is also likely out there to protect the kids in scrums and dust ups if they should occur.
Yup.
brilliant?
Not going that far. This is a season to try a lot of different things. Putting the 2 young talents together was inevitable. Do like having a physical veteran on that line and Goodrow fits the bill. He’s no Ryane Clowe, but that’s the sort to have out there.
Longer term, I’d hope both Smith and Celebrini are centers, each with their own line. But guys like Hertl, Pavelski, Marleau all spent time in their fine careers at center and wing. Too early to say, but Smith might wind up doing the same.
I agree with your thoughts Zeke. GMMG made the statement multiple times that W. Smith and Celebrini are going to play center for the Sharks. This could end up something like Chicago had with Teows and Kane in the past or more recently McDavid and Draisaitl where they would play mostly on different lines but could play together when a situation called for it. I agree that they have had chemistry together for the last two games, but I think that was by design. They have roomed together since when they played in the rookie tournament in the summer and… Read more »
As a development move, it has yielded immediate dividends. He bought more room for his rookies without sacrificing production in the top six. Even in a season that is all about experiments and inevitable combinations of players, there still needs to be strategic thought behind how those experiments are conducted. Warsofsky deserves credit, making moves that serve long term and short term needs simultaneously is really hard and the key to a successful rebuild.
You are right about that. I believe GMMG has done a masterful job since he became GM. It is going to be VERY INTERESTING this offseason with the amount of expected cap space he will have and equally as interesting to see if he has any more tricks up his sleeve as the rest of this season plays out.
I don’t think Wario could put them together until Smith achieved a certain level of comfort in the NHL. He was way too much like Bambi out there the first 10 games. He’s really started to look more comfortable the last few. You can tell by him wanting to hold onto pucks. That’s kind of your first indicator that a player is becoming more comfortable and acclimating. That’s what makes Celly so amazing. Dude stepped onto the ice first game and and demanded the puck at every turn.
I agree with your points. W. Smith was looking more comfortable as the season has progressed. It is nice to see that the plan GMMG put into place when he assumed his role is coming to fruition. It is just going to keep getting better.
I’m coming around. Your logic is logical. And it’s fun to watch the competition for fourth line minutes.
Watching Smith out there, especially lately you can really see him start to shine. He’s not the flashy guy, but even in his young career you see tape to tape passes almost every time he has the puck and something happens. Also has a laser of a shot. I think plauing him with Celebrini has allowed some of those talents to start to shine and I can’t wait till those start going in its exciting to watch.
Some of his stick handling moves and passes are flashy. When he’s comfortable I’m betting he’s going to have some pretty slick moves to escape and get by defenders. Dude seems to have great hands.
He has fantastic hands and vision. Reads plays very quickly, still just needs to get some other parts of his game up to speed. What’s good is that the reading the game part is already there and that’s arguably one of the harder parts to teach. In a few years he’ll be a force in his own right.
What an amazing game. This team doesn’t quit and they’re starting to find some chemistry with their lineups, both offense and defense. Watching Smith and Celebrini play together is so much fun, they look like they’re enjoying it and finding each other easily. They’re already two of the most talented guys on this team but this year, that’s saying a lot.They have some high end talent with the Toffoli and Wennberg additions.while the lund line looks even more dangerous this year. Should Mike Grier get GM of the year for late off-season D-men additions Walman, Ceci and Liljgren, who are… Read more »
10 of the last 11 Sharks games have been 1 goal games (excluding empty net). The loss to the Wild was the lone exception. 5 of those games went into OT. The team is competitive. I think they’ve been fortunate in some of the comebacks (Utah, for example), Don’t usually come back from down 2 or 3 goals. Good teams know to close out games. But even when down, the Sharks didn’t quit. Good for them. A few other notes at the 20 game mark. By my count, 5 rookies have played for the Sharks: Celebrini, Smith, Thompson, Cardwell, Gushchin.… Read more »
They also had some bad puck luck in the opening losing streak. Take a look at how many from the first 10 were close. I’m still going with my prediction that they finish outside of the bottom 10. They very well may be a bubble playoff team if Celly, Smith, Liljegren & Shakir begin contributing more substantially. Liljegren & Ferraro were plus 2 last night.🙂
Everyone seems to suck this year, too, so the field is pretty wide open. It’s really interesting how teams in the mushy middle just eventually seem to hit a wall and become awful, worse than the sum of their parts. It seems to be happening to quite a few of them this season, groups that just look lost. There are teams out there with a lot more talent than the Sharks that look a lot less competitive and polished on a nightly basis. The 6-3-2 record they’ve put up over their last 11 probably isn’t sustainable, but there will probably… Read more »
JT Miller just took a leave of absence from the Canucks too. He’s their heart and soul. But, I should have clarified, I don’t mean bubble team at the end, but bubble team or in the conversation at some point this season. Maybe in February? But then I see the more talented, serious playoff teams pulling away as we get to the last 4-6 weeks of the season. The Trade Deadline may very well decimate this team too and they could fall like a rock in the standings. The lack of polish for those other teams could be attributed to… Read more »
Put Toffoli up there with the kids in place of Goodrow or at least swap Toffoli in on offensive zone draws on that line. Goodrow can not handle the speed/skill of the other two – Celebrini has put numerous perfect passes on Goodrows stick that he completely fumbled. Toffoli would bury those chances.
Watching the shift with Kostin out there with Smith and Celly, he really would be the ideal guy on the other wing if he could somehow put it together. But I’m pretty skeptical now after his start. Who knows though, we’re only 20 games in. Lot’s of season left. A big skilled power forward is who they should be looking for next offseason to play with Celly IMO.
Sharks game location schedule starting on Nov 7 vs the Wild at the Tank to Nov 23.
San Jose to Newark to Philly to NYC to Pittsburgh to San Jose to Dallas to St. Louis to San Jose (vs Buffalo).
8 straight games, each in a different city, 4 time zone changes (10 hours total) in 16 days.
They’re pretty young, have to hope for the best. It will either show they’re legit or put them back in the running for 1OA. They always say you hope for .500 on the road so considering the travel, even the home games should maybe be considered road games. Hope for 8 points in the standings however that looks.
Its Nov 19, they’ve only got 3 games left on this schedule. Acquitted themselves nicely thus far.
The the 3 remaining are a ‘3 games in 4 nights’ with substantial travel between each game. Won’t fault them for having a bad game in this stretch.
More a case of what the schedule makers get away with when it comes to the Sharks. Don’t understood why the Sharks need to make multiple visits to cover the 3 NYC area teams. They’re all less than an hour from each other and whichever local airport they’d want to use.
Rewatching the 3rd period while I work… that 4th goal was Mario playing shitty again. I really hope they trade him in a package for something better or build the defense up enough that he’s only playing 3rd pair minutes.
Not sure if anyone else noticed but in the celebration after the OT goal, Celly did the Griddy for Walman. 😀
I’m waiting for Mukh to show he’s ready for significant minutes in the NHL. When he does, I completely agree that Mario should be traded. I think that is the single biggest opportunity for improvement that’s already in the organization. Once they can ice walman-ceci, mukh-Liljegren, thrun-Thompson, the puck moving improves dramatically and offensive production should follow suit.
I’m probably being too harsh on Mario. He actually did have a pretty good game. Just that one play really stood out. He’s been much better overall since he’s been paired with Liljegren. My big criticism though is that he tends to try and make the break out pass when they’re going D to D when he should clearly be deferring to Lilly. Mario passes like shit. I’m not sure I would give Shakir 2nd pair minutes until next next season. Unlikely he’s ready for that right away. After the TDL though they maybe forced to. They’ll have some decisions… Read more »
I understand your points and get why you would want to trade Ceci, but if it was up to me I would move Rutta and keep Ceci (both RD). IMO Ceci is the better of the two and whatever you get (future considerations) would be fine to just move Rutta out. Both of them have expiring contracts but neither of them are going to get you much of anything and Ceci is needed on this team more than Rutta. I like Rutta as a player and person but I think father time has caught up with him this season. He… Read more »